Thanksgiving Essay
by O2Shea
Summary: It was a typical seasonal school assignment, but it got some people thinking... Takes place at Thanksgiving time, first season.


I do not own "Roswell"... I just like to play there...

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It was a typical English assignment for the day before Thanksgiving, but it seemed like one left over from elementary school. "Write an essay about someone for whom you are thankful. Be sure to include who they are to you, why you selected them and the specific reason you are thankful for them. Your paper is due at the end of the period." The teacher pushed his glasses back up his nose and looked around the class. Obviously they thought he was in his dotage, but he thought they might find some things in their lives that would make the holiday more meaningful. The class gave a more or less collective sigh and started writing.

Michael Guerin tensely stared out the window. His thoughts followed a familiar pattern that he did not recognize as a form of self-indulgence. "Who do I have to be thankful for? I didn't get adopted like Max and Isabel; I was kicked around. Well, I'm on my own now. I guess I'm thankful to Mr. Evans for that... but not thankful enough to write about it for anyone to see. Yeah... I'm on my own, but that just leaves me with no one. So... I have no one to be thankful for." Then his eyes met those of Maria DeLuca and he realized that he was not really alone after all. In spite of himself, some of his tension disappeared and he smiled briefly at her. Okay... he did have Maria. She was there for him even when he didn't especially want her to be there. It was disconcerting that someone could actually love him and to have some one love him with Maria's drive and intensity was almost overwhelming. Just  
remembering their last session in the eraser room was enough to make his cheeks flush and he looked around quickly to make sure no one noticed. Maria was definitely someone he was thankful for, but could he write about her? She was all he had for inspiration. He picked up his pen and started writing.

Isabel Evans had quickly decided that she would write about her mother. After all,her mother was the main reason Isabel considered her life almost perfect. She was about a paragraph into her essay when she paused and glanced at Alex Whitman. Isabel could not have said why she looked his way just then. He was absentmindedly playing with his pen as he thought about his essay. Alex was someone very special in her life. She hadn't quite made up her mind where he fit into it but he had gone above and beyond anyone else to help them all out without question. She was sometimes awed at the amount of character he had and was more than flattered by the love for her that he expressed in his dreams. What girl wouldn't be thankful to have Alex in her life? He would make a good essay subject... not as predictable a subject as a parent or a boyfriend either. Alex wasn't her boyfriend, exactly, but he was certainly something... She gave Alex a smile so brilliant that he blinked and straightened in his seat. Then she started writing.

Wow. Isabel Evans had just given him the greatest smile Alex had ever seen her give anyone. He had known how thankful he was to find himself part of her intimate group of friends and even to be her escort occasionally. Her beauty had blinded him long before it was cool to admit that girls even existed in a positive way. He had been more than eager to help Liz and when it turned out that he was also helping Isabel, well, that had been nothing short of serendipity. All the risk had been worth it. He knew Isabel was not in love with him, but he congratulated himself on her obvious inability to categorize him. Yep. Isabel was the person he was most thankful for and he pulled out a piece of paper to write about her.

Maria DeLuca never knew whether Michael was looking forward to seeing her or not half the time. She was a virgin, but she had been around the block a little bit with guys and Michael's seeming indifference lit the fuse of her hot temper on a regular basis. She watched him as he wrote and continued to doodle on her page. He was in a good mood today. That smile may have seemed small to some people but she knew that every indication that he cared was cautiously given and she was proud to be the one he gave them to. It was almost like taming a wild thing. She had to be more patient than she ever had been in her life! Their hot makeout sessions held the potential of something more and she was thankful for Michael and his tentatively proffered love. Seeing him was what she looked forward to each day. Obviously, he was the one she should be writing about, so she started to write her essay around the doodles.

Liz Parker and Max Evans had looked at one another and neither had a moment's doubt that the other was the one each was most thankful for. They started writing. He remembered the first time he realized she had come to love him, the feel of her in his arms, her laugh, the deep reverent hush within him when their souls came in contact. Liz remembered the danger he ignored to save her life, the tenderness of every look, the night he told her how much he loved her and wanted to run away with her... She glanced up to find his eyes on her as they so often were. She rewarded him with one of her smiles in return. Yeah... they were thankful for one another now and she suspected they always would be.

The bell rang and the class turned their papers in.

END


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